Copper wire theft sends suspect scurrying into LA manhole and refusing to come out


















Insurance practices in an age of climate volatility raise troubling questions about home ownership and housing affordability – the bedrock of the American middle class
For a few frenetic days last January, after losing their midcentury ranch home to the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, Jessica and Matt Conkle thought they could see a glimmer of hope.
Their insurance company, State Farm, had sent emergency response teams to Altadena, where they lived, and they filed a claim right away. It wasn’t long before they received a check that covered four months of living expenses.
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© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images





































More than 800 employees sign petition calling for withdrawal of ICE agents and cancellation of contracts
More than 800 US tech workers have signed a petition calling for tech CEOs to demand the Trump administration remove US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from US cities and cancel contracts with the agency.
“We know our industry leaders have leverage: in October, they persuaded Trump to call off a planned ICE surge in San Francisco,” the petition reads. “Now they need to go further, and join us in demanding ICE out of all of our cities.”
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© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images

































Thousands visit zoo in Tokyo to say farewell to Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao as China ends ‘panda diplomacy’ with Japan
Hundreds of people have gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years, as ties between the Asian neighbours fray.
Panda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were transported by truck out of Ueno zoological gardens, their birthplace, disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry four-year-olds.
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© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

